The Million $$$ haircut!

I know perhaps it sounds a little vain but I have always loved my hair. Even if I was having a fat day, my hair was there to cheer me up. Just enough natural curl to hold curls when I style it and yet I could wear it straight and long if I wanted to. I have had short hair a few times but mostly wear it shoulder length or longer. Until I was in my middle 20's, the color was terrific. Lots of natural blonde highlights that were God given. Later in my 20's, my hair started getting darker but still had many highlights. One stylist even argued with me that I had put hightlights in my hair and was lying to her. Now that my 40th birthday is only 5 days away, the color is, well, not what I would like it to be. It is this dull brown color with more gray roots than I care to admit. I might mention that gray roots don't color well!

I seem to pick hair stylists with drama. I do think they would qualify for the reality television show (despite the fact that I have no idea what the name of it is)! I had one who did a great job for a while and then she started having husband/health/child issues. The last time she cut my hair, she was crying and telling me her latest life story. I should have grabbed the scissors right then and walked out. But no...I let her continue to cut away (literally) until my hair was an uneven mess. My husband swears he will commit me if I ever allow her near my hair again.

Next came the person who repaired the damage of the stylist just mentioned. I was shocked when she told me she had to take another inch off just to even it up. To say that looking in the mirror was traumatizing was an understatement. To try to fix it, I thought perhaps a few blonde highlights would help. I guess when you don't have much hair, your hair must take highlights well because it was REALLY blonde. I looked entirely different. You can imagine what that looked like growing out! With this stylist, I have experimented with color to find something that might work. The first time she tried a strawberry blonde, it washed out in a few weeks. There was money well spent! We tried more red and that color looked pretty good. The next time, she thought more would be better and I left looking like Lucille Ball! Right before Natalie was born, she decided we would try "something close to my natural color." It might have looked natural if I was a cow but the brown wasn't natural at all. Okay...that would be the last time she colored it.

My dear friend Donna and I took a trip to Sally's Beauty Supply and found the perfect color quite by accident. $8 later, I was well pleased. The biggest reason I had Donna help me is that she does her own hair and it always looks stunning. And...I just can't afford to spend $130 on color and highlights every 6 weeks. Thank you Donna!

However, when I went back to the stylist to get my hair trimmed, she was quite unhappy that I hadn't used her for color. While she SAID she understood that I just didn't have the money, the hair cut I got that day said otherwise. I came home and told Stephen I just wasn't sure what to do. So, I did nothing until last Friday.

Mackenzie has the most gorgeous head of soft, ringlet curls you can imagine. Every where we go, people touch her hair. She won't keep a barrette it in for longer than 2 minutes so I have been having her bangs cut so she won't eat her hair. Yes, she really was chewing on it while watching television. What a great Mom I am! Anyway, when I called last week to see if there was an appointment, I thought I would also try to have my hair cut by this young stylist.

This cut was perhaps one of the best haircuts I have ever gotten. She washed my hair and deep conditioned it while telling me that the product I am using wasn't giving my hair enough moisture. I had suspected this anyway so I was happy she agreed with my thoughts. She also spent some time looking at my face and my hair to determine what kind of cut and length would be good for me. She then spent over a half hour meticulously cutting my hair. I watched in awe though the mirror. She did a great job. Of course, that would really be determined when I tried to style it myself.

That day, it was raining so I had to add a few curls before I left for a meeting. I decided to flip it up and it looked adorable. The next day, I washed and styled it on my own. It still looked good. Today, I did a 2 minute blow dry so it wasn't dripping wet, added some hair spray and ran out the door. While it certainly didn't look fabulous, it looked good for the 2 minutes I spent on it. I didn't feel embarrassed to go out in public. She had done a great job.

And then...the bill! When she told me it would be $60 for my haircut, I almost choked. Who pays that kind of money on a haircut? I don't have that kind of money. Unbelievable. I knew I had to add a tip but I can tell you I hesitated. That would make it $70. Not to be totally embarrassed, I took some money out of my wallet and paid for it. With Mackenzie's haircut ($20 + tip) we spent over $90. My husband had worked the entire Saturday night before helping a guy who gave him a $100 bill. I was supposed to put it into the bank. When he came home a few days later, he asked me if I had deposited the money yet. Everything in me wanted to tell a big FAT lie. "I lost the money, honey." Instead, I took a gulp and told him I was really embarrassed about what had happened. I told him the truth...very slowly, with lots of emphasis on what a great haircut we both had. He kind of looked ill but didn't chastise me.

Sooooo...I started this entry on September 23 but didn't post it. It is now October 29th. I have to admit I have had more compliments on my hair in the last month than in the past two years combined. I have had great hair days every day. Okay, maybe not the days I choose to be lazy and put it in a clippy, but almost every day. I am REALLY happy with the cut. Now I just have to figure out where I can get a part time job to pay for it again. Hmmmmmmmmm.